1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand-guided, mobile cleaning machine, particularly a scrubbing machine, having a cleaning tool which is positioned to engage the ground and is attached between a rear set of drive rollers and a front steering roller assembly that can be controlled by a handle-bar located at the rear of the machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, cleaning machines of the type having a front set of drive rollers and/or rear roller or rollers which are freely rotatable on a vertical axis for steering the machine are well known. In use, the cleaning machine is "pulled" by the front drive rollers while the operator steers the machine by putting pressure on the rear roller or rollers by the application of lateral force on a handle-bar such that the roller or rollers pivot on their vertical axis thus causing a steering effect.
This type of construction has the disadvantage that on the one hand relatively great force has to be applied by the operator for the steering the machine, and on the other hand, the machine requires a large turning circle, which makes it particularly difficult to bring the cleaning machine up to walls and the like and to move it away from them.
In mobile cleaning machines in which the operator rides on the cleaning machine, in other words for very large cleaning machines such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,789 issued on Apr. 29, 1975 and entitled "Scrubbing Machine", a front steering roller is used to steer the machine. This type of machine is relatively expensive, unwieldly and limited to large surface application.